Rental eviction notices in plain English

When a landlord agrees to rent out his property, there is always the possibility of an eviction notice for the tenant at some point in the future. In many cases, evictions are not done according to the law because the landlord lacks knowledge of what states require. Follow some simple rules, steps, and pieces of advice when preparing a legal eviction notice. These are some of the basics to be aware of:

What is an eviction notice?

This is a legal warning that is given to the tenant of a property, telling him to pay up or otherwise comply or move out. The eviction attorney can be hired to prepare and serve the notice if the tenant hasn’t complied with some of the points already settled in the rental agreement.

For example, if a property is rented at a certain price and the tenant fails to pay the total amount due, a legal notice can be prepared to either pay up or move out. This is commonly referred to as an eviction notice. A tenant usually receives this type of notice when they fail to pay their rent, or if they do not comply with other requirements of the lease, or if they break the law.

What are the types of eviction notices?

In general eviction notices are classified according to the number of days they allow the person to continue in the place until they solve the issue or leave the premises. The following are some of the types of notice:

3-day notice to pay or quit

Once the landlord gives a 3-day notice to the tenant, there are only two options. As the name of the notice states, the tenant has three days to pay the past due rent, which could be one or more months. If rent is not paid in the established number of days, then the place has to be vacated. If the tenant leaves the property without paying, the landlord can file a claim and try to obtain the due rent, even after the eviction. If the tenant refuses to leave, the landlord may take him to court.

A 3-day notice to perform covenant

In this case, there is not necessarily an immediate eviction. What is being asked is to solve some issue between the tenant and the landlord. The purpose of this eviction is to cure the breach of contract as soon as possible. This violation of the contract could be money issues, payment of services, or for maintenance or repairs the landlord deems necessary. It will change from one case to another according to the lease agreement.

3-day notice to quit

In this case, the breach of contract is not something that cannot be solved, and the landlord is not asking the tenant to cure the breach. The tenant may threaten the landlord or break the law on the property, to name two examples. The only option available to the tenant is leaving the rental property. Since this is a hard eviction notice, the landlord needs to have all the necessary evidence to support the case if the tenant does not leave.

There are also some legal eviction notices that have a longer period involved. These are of 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. In these cases, the landlord does not need a reason for eviction, or evidence to support the case, because there is plenty of notice for the person to leave the property. In case of eviction, the tenant has to continue paying rent until they actually leave the office or the apartment.

What not to do as a landlord?

One of the best pieces of advice for a landlord is not to attempt an eviction yourself. Self-help evictions can bring about more legal problems than the one he was trying solve. The law can punish things like changing the locks or cutting of utilities.

The second most common mistake that should be avoided is trying to file an eviction notice without sufficient evidence of non-payment or other breach contract. Remember that for express evictions it is necessary to gather a lot of evidence if the tenant refuses to leave. The landlord must be prepared to present a case in court to persuade a judge to evict.